‘Democracy without Justice=Demon Crazy.'
We take pride in that defining moment in 1950 when, despite a
recognition of the enormous challenges of knitting together a 'nation' out of a
staggering diversity of communities, ethnicities, languages and disparities, we
decided to take the bold political step by pledging India to be a sovereign,
socialist, secular, democratic republic. What remains today of this pledge?From whose vantage point do we
assess our democracy? Or the over 70 % who live on less than Rs 80 a
day, some striving to improve their lives against grave odds and others living
a life of penury and humiliation?Why is a vantage point important? After all,
people have regularly exercised their electoral options, sometimes changing
governments who have let them down. But, apart from a few exceptions, have they
not elected another set of leaders who are more or less the same? Have they had
any power to hold the bureaucrats, who exercise enormous power, accountable?Compared with many countries, we do not live under an
authoritarian regime. We can organise protests and write freely. Unlike China,
we have achieved over 9 % growth with liberal
democracy. Integral to democracy was the commitment to strive for social and
economic justice. Any assessment of our democracy must start with an assessment
of that commitment.This debate is not to assess
the failures of our political elite, it is to steer democracy
in ways in which it could accommodate the aspirations of the people of states
and regions like Kashmir, Punjab, and the Northeast or its contentious
maneuvering of 'higher' and 'lower' castes. Nor is it my intention to assess
the success of the Congress party in representing the plurality of the country
or in analysing its decline and the growth of other political forces
representing regional and ethnic aspirations, including the rise of the BJP.My
intention is to illuminate how the dominant political, social and economic
interest groups have consolidated their control and managed democratic
aspirations without conceding their power. Of course, there are instances of
dalits becoming presidents and sarpanches, of lower caste/class members
demonstrating remarkable entrepreneurial spirit. However, those who have been
able to build secure livelihoods are a small proportion of the economically and
socially discriminated in the country. This reality highlights many questions.
Here are a few.What can we say about our
democracy when an explosive amalgam of Hindu Rightwing politics, organised
religion, and powerful capitalist leaders actively collaborate in a pogrom,
shield the perpetrators and walk free to reinvent their game to corner huge
gains from economic globalisation? Can we call our country democratic when,
in the past few years, there have been a hundred thousand farmer suicides — a hundred thousand families
devastated? These figures, spread in small digits over time, have a numbing
effect. The numbers hide the millions of others who live at the edge of
survival, away from the gaze and concern of the growing middle classes.This reality points
to our being integrated into an undemocratic global economic system
dominated by institutions which are silent when the US and Europe heavily
subsidise their farmers undermining the very survival of millions of farmers in
countries like ours — one of the reasons for the suicides. These institutions
seek the liberalisation of policies to facilitate the accumulation of private
wealth, not its democratic redistribution. They legitimise, even assist,
predatory finance capital as it penetrates deeper into the country,
appropriating and profiting from our resources.What
can we say about our democracy when the most predatory of hedge funds and
finance institutions in the US and elsewhere are descending in India
speculating in and capitalising on India's land? Over 26 per cent of FDI in the
past year has been in real estate. In the process, laws are being violated with
impunity and entire chains of illegal deals are the norms. Is it not a mark of
failure when fertile agricultural lands are carved off into Special Economic
Zones (SEZs) that further privilege the rich, give them tax-free shelters and
greater opportunities to indulge in speculation in land and property? The Union
finance ministry's own internal assessment in 2005 suggests that in the period
2006-2009, the government will have to forgo Rs 90,000 crore in direct and
indirect taxes on account of the SEZs. These zones will become corporate
city-states where the Indian State will just be a rubber stamp. Is this the
maturing of a democracy or a violation of its spirit? How democratic can our
society be when our rulers compete to attract more foreign investment by
diluting or deregulating a wide range of protective democratic legislation and
policy — from labour laws and environment impact assessments to land ceiling acts
— legislation that was won after decades of political struggle? Our democracy
is reflected in the crippling neglect of our agriculture. We are witnessing an
expansion of contract and corporate farming, industrialising and corporatising
agriculture. Prominent NRI economists like Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind
Panagariya acclaim these developments. Addressing the Chambers of Indian
Industries recently, Panagariya said, “There is a need to pull a substantial
chunk of population from agriculture into labour intensive sectors.” This
arrogant recommendation, if implemented, would condemn most of those 'pulled'
to a life of crippling labour at the bottom of the economy. Is such social
engineering democratic? Are no lessons learned from the massive social and environmental
harm that the present path of consumer capitalism is causing, including changes
in the climate — a reality that urgently calls for a dramatic rethinking of our
patterns of consumption and development? Transnational and domestic private
capital (and their academic apologists) are playing a powerful role in shaping
the direction of the economy. This is not globalisation but an
internationalisation of finance and corporate capital, undermining our
democracy and eroding our sovereignty. Should we admit failure when the police
or the army fire on democratic protests often in the presence of district
collectors and senior members of ruling parties? Are the firings and repression
in Nandigram and Kalinganagar scattered incidents or are they part of a pattern
where 'development flows from the barrel of a gun'? Even a cursory look
at what is unfolding in the Northeast highlights how projects ranging from
uranium mines to scores of large dams are being implemented with minimal public
discussion using lies, subterfuge, armed force and blatant bribery. An
illustration of this is the announcement in early July by the National
Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC) to give over Rs 300 crore to the chief
minister of Arunachal Pradesh as an 'advance' to build large dams. Despite nine
per cent growth, less than one per cent of the national budget goes towards
public health spending? We have child malnourishment levels that are higher
than sub-Saharan Africa. Highlighting this, a recent government of India-UNICEF
study found that 56 per cent of women and 79 per cent of children below three
years old were anemic — a situation worse than seven years ago. Even a leading
government consultant had to proclaim that this reality was, “…a matter of
national priority and shame”. Growth was meant to benefit all. Only select
sectors have experienced rapid growth and only a few have benefited. Most
governments have failed in democratising more equitable access to the processes
and benefits of the market. So you have a classic situation of widening
expectations created by a populist image of resurgent India and a reality of
disenchantment. It is inevitable in this situation that Maoist movements are
finding resonance among despairing populations. Vast areas in Maharashtra,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa are now
under their influence. The iniquitous development has seen a huge growth in
private security agencies. The elites live inside gated communities guarded by
high walls and fences. We see the growing use of corporate resources to support
State roles. Routinely now, private corporations provide vehicles to ferry
police to break up democratic protests as has happened recently around the
proposed POSCO plant in Orissa or at the site of the Maheshwar dam in Madhya
Pradesh. How democratic are we when corruption has been standardised,
institutionalised and its scale is staggering. Visit the state of Jharkhand or
Chhattisgarh. Routinely, you will hear of projects where 70-80 per cent of the
money has been pocketed by a triumvirate of contractors, politicians and
bureaucrats. Personal and/or party gain takes precedence over the effective
implementation of socially and economically empowering projects.There
has been a boom in those sectors needed for the global economy. Uneven
development has intensified. The wealth gap has grown. The IIM's and the IIT's
are flourishing, with a virtual explosion of private management and IT
institutions. However, we see an appalling dearth of teachers and facilities in
an overwhelming majority of our primary schools. Even within the parameters of
a 'Liberal Welfare State', the Indian State's record has become dismal.
Privatising education and health sectors has meant that 50 per cent of our
people can no longer afford adequate education and health care.We are entering
a phase of intensive predatory capitalism. The most that our governments are
willing to reluctantly concede are steps to humanise this invasion — safety
nets, employment generation sch-emes, micro-credit programmes. In no way do
these create an equitable, democratic, ecologically secure society, in no way
is there a recognition that people need more than a culture of materialism to
lead a fulfilling life, and, conversely, that a fulfilling life does not need
an immersion in rampant consumerism.Democratic struggles
have led to progressive State intervention creating small but crucially
important gains for dalits, tribals and women.There are countless efforts of
people with conscience, those who care, resist, speak out. They are the keepers
of sanity, the true defenders of our democracy. It is their hand and their
spirit that must be strengthened.This may sound utopian, given the seemingly
overwhelming odds. But, look at Latin America. After decades of authoritarian rule
and massive US and IMF/World Bank-led economic adjustment, we are witnessing
the dramatic collapse of regimes and policies that privileged the rich, diluted
national sovereignty and destroyed millions of livelihoods.
